Electronic cigarettes have become very popular in the last few years. Many of these electronic cigarettes operate as a battery-powered vaporizer that includes a mouth piece, a rebuidable device or deck, a juice or e-liquid that is vaporized and a heating element or similar atomizer. The heating element is typically a heating coil and heats and vaporizes the juice. A wicking material helps draw the juice or liquid onto the coil such as from a well that holds the juice. In some devices, the user manually depresses a button on the side of the housing or at the end of the device to close a switch and actuate a contact button or “firing pin” or other contact device to complete the electronic circuit between the battery and the atomizer.
The electronic cigarette designs currently in use vary and recent design modifications include mechanical “mods,” for example, that may have a rebuildable atomizer deck that allows a user to assemble or “build” the wick and coil themselves, instead of using off-the-shelf atomizer “heads.” These types of devices are often termed a rebuildable dripping atomizer (RDA), or sometimes referred to as a “dripper.” Experienced users of electronic cigarettes enjoy building their atomizers because they can choose a specific configuration and electrical resistance of their coil, and thus, pick their flavor and the amount of aerosolized vapor produced by the electronic cigarette. In the rebuidable dripping atomizer, the juice is usually dripped directly onto the coil and the wick. The liquid or juice used in these systems generally has vegetable glycerin or propylene glycol and may include flavoring. The RDA “building deck” or “deck” usually has two or three or more posts with holes formed in them that accept one or more coils. The user typically maintains the wick wet by dripping liquid onto the bare wick and coil and/or drawing juice from a well. Often a well-built RDA will last as many as 10 to 20 puffs and emit very large quantities of vapor.
When rebuilding the RDA decks, there is usually a positive post in the center and one or more negative posts located outside the center. One end or lead of the coil is attached to the positive post and the other lead of the coil is attached to one of the negative posts. This process is repeated on opposing sides if two coils are used. In some devices, air flow control can be maintained by spinning a top piece to close off the air holes or open them wide. The number of holes can vary so that the atomizer is used efficiently with one or two or more coils and the holes are lined up adjacent the coils. With a single coil, the RDA operates in a single coil mode, but with two coils, the RDA operates in a dual coil mode.
Building the coils typically requires a user to select the type of wire and its gauge. In one example, the user wraps the wire around a cylindrical object to form the coil and then inserts the coil within the negative or positive leads in order to make a “build.” Often the device configuration does not permit an efficient electrical connection and makes the build difficult. Some designs are even clumsy to use after the build.